Monday, June 24, 1996

Republic of Texas Takes Recruiting On The Road

By Associated Press

McALLEN - The "provisional government" of the Republic of Texas is taking its secessionist show on the road.

In the hope of scattering seeds of secession, the group says it plans to meet in a different Texas city every three weeks for the rest of the year. The Republic council met this weekend in McAllen.

Like many other protest groups, the Republic of Teas shuns taxes, government rules and regulations.

But its members also refuse to recognize the authority of existing local governments and courts.
Challenging the legality of the state's annexation by the United States in 1845, they want Texas restored to its previous sovereign status as an independent nation.

One member of the McAllen audience said Texans should vote on the question.

"If the citizens of Texas were not allowed to vote, they should be allowed to vote," said Jim Davenport, a Brownsville resident and member of the "Fully Informed Jury Association."
Delbert Rockwell, a small businessman from Weslaco, said the situation demanded urgency.

"How many more rights do we have to lose before we live under a dictatorship?" Rockwell said.
Republic leaders do not recognize federal authority and espouse laws of their own making, currency based on gold and silver, minimal taxes and common-law justice.

Anger at government control is attracting more people to the Republic banner, said Bill Bailey, the group's secretary of trade and commerce.

"I wouldn't be in the Republic of Texas if the U.S. Congress hadn't violated the constitution," Bailey said, brandishing a copy of the U.S. Constitution.

Many members scoff if they are compared to what some consider "fringe" groups, such as militias and the Montana Freeman.

"Our alignment is with the people of the world and the rest of the United States," said Richard L. McLaren, a mentor of the group.

"I'm not anti-government," said Bailey, a former salesman from Houston. "It's the men who pervert the Constitution."

But the anti-tax-and-regulation message captures a similar audience to militia and other movements, some observers say.

Ken Vardon, who runs a fax network for the Republic, founded the "American Patriot Fax Network" in February 1993 to inform people about alleged government incidents of government intrusion, such as the Waco incident.